We are proud to announce that in close cooperation with GrantsEurope, as lead consultant, WWF and many other organisations, we have contributed to a major win in Interreg Central Europe. The LECA project sets out to support large carnivore (bear, wolf and lynx) monitoring and preservation in the Carpathians in the next 3 years with a budget of 1.7 MEUR.
The ‘Supporting the Carpathian Large Carnivore Comeback’ project (LECA) will support Interreg Central Europe SO2.4 by developing innovative methods and policies for monitoring and conservation of large carnivore populations (i.e. wolves, bears and lynxes) and human-wildlife interactions (including conflicts) across Carpathian country borders.
Large carnivores are a crucial component of forest ecosystems throughout the Carpathians, which hosts one of the most abundant native populations of lynx, wolf and bear in Europe. The long-term viability of these protected species is threatened by human-induced mortalities, such as poaching and vehicle collisions as well as habitat fragmentation and destruction. In order to take effective countermeasures that promote healthy population structures and – in several cases – enable natural expansion and recolonization of adjacent areas, evidence based and coordinated conservation and management need to be adopted in all Carpathian countries. This entails consistent and efficient monitoring across borders and over long periods of time and reducing conflicts with large carnivores and humans via up-to-date preventive measures, embedded into local policies as well as counteracting misconceptions.
The partnership includes ministries, universities, and nature conservation organisations, covering the entire Carpathian region. It was selected to cover relevant stakeholder groups in 6 programme countries (SK, CZ, HU, SLO, AU, PL) and 2 outside the program area (UA and RO).
The project builds on previous projects in large carnivore preservation (see EuroLargeCarnivore and SWiPE projects) and demonstrates a clear added value.
For long-term sustainability and transferability, project results are to be rolled out at the Carpathian level through engaging stakeholders in dissemination-oriented activities, incl. knowledge sharing in the Carpathian and Alpine Convention.
We, at DevEco are devoted to the maintanence and promotion of biodiversity, as a major factor in environmental sustainability.
We hope that such projects and their leveraged effects may play a major part in the preservation of bear, wolf and lynx populations in the Carpathians.
— The DevEco Consulting Team